What is Forbearance in the Bible?

Put simply – What is Forbearance in the Bible?

God’s forbearance is his patience with our sin and withholding of his wrath.

A little more complicated –

This word literally means holding back.  This word can also translated long-suffering or slow to anger. The key idea here is that God is not sweeping our sins under the rug and ignoring them; he purposefully held back his righteous wrath so that in his kindness he could show us grace through Christ. God has been patient with our wickedness and sin, and has made a way for us to come to him in Jesus.

Scripture References:

• Exodus 34:6 “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
• Jeremiah 15:15 “O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach.”
• Romans 2:4 “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
• Romans 3:25 “Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”